A New Beginning
by troatie
Summary: Oneshot "She needed to get away from Derek, Mark and Alex. She needed to go somewhere where she wasn’t the ex-wife, the ex-girlfriend or the ex-non-girlfriend. She needed a new beginning" Maddison. Set between S3 and S4.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

**A/N:** This is just a little Maddison oneshot set between season 3 and season 4. The prompt was "Let's Go On A Picnic". I hope you'll like it, please read and review :)

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**A New Beginning**

"I'm not asking for your permission, Richard. I'm letting you know I'm leaving. My letter of resignation will be on your table tomorrow."

Addison sighed as she leaned her back against the door of the Chief's office. She was leaving. No matter how hard Richard tried to convince her, she was joining Naomi's practice, and she was doing it soon.

She needed to get away from Derek, Mark and Alex. She needed to go somewhere where she wasn't the ex-wife, the ex-girlfriend or the ex-non-girlfriend. She needed to be somewhere where she wouldn't be expected to feel guilty over cheating on her husband, being friends with her ex-mistress or sleeping with the help. She needed a new beginning.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to miss Seattle. She'd lived here for a year, and she'd grown to like parts of it. Like the park near the hospital, which was always quiet and peaceful. And the coffee shop near the hotel, where they made the best capuccinos. And Callie Torres, who was now one of her best friends. She was definitely going to miss Callie.

And she was hoping to meet her for lunch so she could tell her she was moving, but she had a surgery, and now Addison had to have lunch alone, which is something she'd always hated. She'd kept herself busy for a while, doing paperwork and checking on her patients, hoping for Callie's surgery to end soon, but her stomach was growling in protest, and she had to give up on having lunch with her friend.

She sat at one of the tables, frowning at the hospital food in front of them, and started slowly unwrapping her sandwich, making herself believe it was actual turkey and not some kind of disgusting hospital substitute for it. She was about to take the first bite when she heard a familiar voice next to her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She could feel his smirk before she looked at him. She guessed it was because Mark Sloan smirked almost all the time, so it was always safe to bet on his McSteamy smirk being in place. "I'm hungry. I need food. Even hospital food will do." She pouted as she looked up at him, and he let out a chuckle as he grabbed the tray that was on the table.

He unceremoniously threw its contents in a trash can and walked back to Addison's table. "Come on, I'll give you real food. I can't let you poison yourself like this." She laughed as she stood up and followed him out of the cafeteria and towards the glass doors of the hospital. She didn't know where he was taking her, but she didn't have another surgery until a few hours later, so she wasn't worried about needing to be back at the hospital anytime soon.

It was one of those rare sunny days in Seattle, and she smiled as soon as they walked outside and she felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. She looped her arm through his, a friendly gesture that she'd been doing for over 15 years now, and he smiled as he looked at her. Her auburn hair shone under the summer sun, and the bright smile on her face made her eyes look brighter than they normally were.

Addison, like Mark, was one of those people who were incredibly affected by the weather. No matter how bad they'd been feeling before, as soon as they were outside under a blue sky and felt the sun on their faces, all the problems were forgotten and they couldn't help but smile. And that was exactly what had happened the moment they stepped out of the hospital.

Mark lead her to a small deli near the hospital and ordered two turkey sandwiches, two ice-cold beers and two slices of cheesecake. He knew she was normally the kind of woman who expected filet mignon, red wine and crème brûlée, but he also knew, deep down, she liked to embrace the cheap carb-filled pleasures from time to time.

Addison looked questioningly at him when she saw he asked for all the food to go and lead her across the street to the small park she liked so much. She didn't remember telling him about it. "I found this place the other day. Reminded me of our picnics in Central Park." Addison smiled at the memories, the many lunches they'd shared laying on the grass between surgeries, both before and after Derek left. As friends and as lovers. They'd never stopped doing it.

Her smile widened when they walked into the quiet park, and she walked briskly towards a tree that looked particularly appealing to have a picnic under. He followed her and set the paper bags on the grass, standing close to her so she could balance herself with a hand on his arm while she took off her shoes. She carefully placed them next to the tree, and walked back towards him, smiling as she felt the grass on her bare feet.

He smirked as he looked at her next to him, and she cocked her eyebrow, waiting for the inevitable comment. "You're a shortie without those heels, Add." He always said the same thing in the rare moments when she wasn't wearing her shoes, and she smiled at the familiarity of it. "I'm not a shortie. You're freakishly tall." He chuckled at her obviously fake glare and placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head, just like he'd done countless times before.

She was grateful for their friendship being strong enough to survive after the affair, the end of their relationship, the failed bet and everything else they'd gone through. They'd always been friends first, and that was why they'd fallen into the routine of their friendly picnics as if it hadn't been almost a year since their last one.

She sat on the grass with her back resting against the tree, and grabbed one of the paper bags to hand him his sandwich as he opened the two bottles of beer. She took a sip of her drink and closed her eyes, resting her head against the tree behind her back. "Do you know how long it has been since I've really enjoyed a beer?" He smiled as he took the first bit off his sandwich. "Ten months and two weeks?"

He knew. Because that's when their last picnic had been, and that's when he'd enjoyed his last beer as well. He'd drank more beers afterwards, but he'd found out he only enjoyed them when she was around. "Yeah. Ten months and two weeks." She remembered the date too. The day she'd gotten on that plane and followed Derek to Seattle.

They ate their sandwiches and cheesecake in a comfortable silence, with bits and pieces of casual chat here and there. It wasn't until they were both laying on their backs, their lab coats acting as pillows as they did when they were in New York, that Addison decided to tell him she was moving. "Mark?"

Mark let out an appreciative sound to let her know he was listening, and she went on. "Naomi called me the other day. Remember Nai? From med school?" He nodded even though she couldn't see him because her eyes were closed, but she assumed he'd have told her if he didn't remember. "She offered me a job at her practice in LA. I saw it when I went down last month, and it looked like a great place."

His eyes were open now, but he didn't speak. He didn't know what to say. "I'm moving next week. I've already told Richard, and he wasn't happy, but I need the change. Seattle is not for me." He shook his head slowly, as if trying to clear his thoughts. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, his voice lower than normal. "But you're a surgeon, Addie."

She smiled with her eyes still closed. She knew that would be his first concern. It had been hers as well. "I'll still cut from time to time. Whenever there's an emergency." He was now looking at her, trying to wrap his mind around it. She was leaving him, again. And this time it felt even worse than the last time. Because the last time she left him as her lover, but now she was leaving him as her friend.

They laid in silence for a while, Addison's fingers fiddling with the grass below her and Mark's brain trying to make sense of the whole situation. He never thought she'd leave. He thought they'd have more time to give themselves another try. To make her believe he deserved another chance. And now, suddenly, he had to accept the fact that he was out of time.

He rolled over to look at her, and she opened her eyes as soon as she felt him closer to her. "Don't go, Addie." She shook her head before speaking again. "Mark..." But she couldn't say anything else before he interrupted her. "No, Addison, let me talk. I don't want you to go. We need more time. We – it's us, Addie – we need more time." She sighed and closed her eyes for a second before standing up. "There's no us, Mark. We didn't work. We wouldn't – "

But he interrupted her again. "We could. I didn't lose the bet." She cocked her eyebrow as he stood up to stand next to her. "I saw you walking out of the on-call room with Karev. I didn't lose the bet, Addie." She opened her mouth to say something, but words failed her, and he kept talking. "I didn't want you to feel guilty, that's why I told you it'd been me. You've felt guilty enough, you deserve to be happy and not feel like that ever again."

Addison was trying to make sense of the hurricane of emotions in her mind. He hadn't slept with anyone else. "I know I screwed up – I royally screwed up – when I cheated on you. You know that's how I cope. You started working a lot, and I screwed nurses. We're equally messed up, Addie."

She had to admit those two months had been hard for both of them. They were dealing with the guilt of hurting Derek, trying to make a new relationship work, and getting over an abortion, all at once. And she knew that's how he coped. He was emotionally retarded, and she knew that before she fell in love with him in the first place.

"Today is day 82. Let's give it a try, Add. A real try. Let's be a couple." Addison shook her head again, and she was going to crouch down to put on her shoes when he gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her back up, looking into her eyes. "Tell me you really don't think we could work. Tell me we don't stand a chance, and I'll let you go in peace. I'll be just your friend, nothing else." She took a deep breath, ready to tell him exactly that, but words failed her again. "Mark..."

His name was all she could say before she felt his lips on hers, and after few seconds – but he swore it felt like hours – she finally gave up and kissed him back, relaxing into his arms that were now wrapped around her waist, keeping her body close to hers. He was surprised to feel her tongue tracing his lower lip, and he pulled her even closer as his lips parted and their kiss grew deeper and hungrier.

She was the one who pulled away, resting her back against the tree as she struggled to catch her breath. Thinking it might be their last kiss had made her want to make it last as much as possible, and she'd nearly fainted from lack of air. He closed the gap between them, resting one of his hands against the tree as he traced the line of her jaw with the thumb on the other.

Addison allowed herself a moment to enjoy the impossibly nice feeling of the sunshine and Mark at the same time before she spoke again. "What's day 82?" He smirked and held her gaze. "Day 82 post-bet." She cocked her eyebrow again. "You're trying to tell me it's been 82 days since you had sex for the last time?" He nodded as he answered her question. "Eighty-two very long, very painful days."

A small smile appeared on her face, but she tried to hide it as she spoke again. "I'm still leaving." He was still looking into her eyes, and he took a deep breath before replying. "So am I. If you let me." She chuckled slightly, thinking he was kidding. "What? You're not coming with me to Los Angeles." He smirked as he spoke again. "Addie, I exchanged the Big Apple for this rainy hell hole to come after you, even though I knew you were back with Derek. Believe me, exchanging this place for the dream of a plastic surgeon is more than okay."

She smiled wider this time, against her own advice. She knew better than to get her hopes up, but he was being extremely convincing. "Plus, this time, wouldn't be chasing you. I'd be moving with you. Because we'd be a couple." She tried to keep a straight face, but he was making it more and more difficult by the second. "Mark, I don't know..."

She looked down, but he tilted her head up, making her look into his eyes again. "You do know, Add." She did know.

The wide smile on his face made it difficult to kiss her back when she pulled him towards him for another kiss, her hands sliding up the front of his shirt and stopping on his shoulders. He pulled away for a second, his eyes still on hers and their lips almost touching. "Should I start packing?" She let out a small chuckle and kissed him again. "You should."

They walked back to the hospital a few hours later, her arm on his and their lab coats folded neatly and hanging from their free arms. Mark took a moment to look at her as they waited on a red light, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight. There were still a few small twigs tangled in her hair, and her skin was still flushed after their third celebration of their new coupley status. Her eyes sparkled with happiness, and the beaming smile on her face was extremely contagious.

They stepped into the elevator, and Mark pulled out the twigs as she straightened his lab coat after he put it on. "So, when we're living in LA, are you gonna wear jeans?" She chuckled and pressed the button on the elevator. "I don't think so." He helped her button up her lab coat and stole a quick kiss before asking again. "Are we gonna take long walks on the beach?" She smiled and kissed him again. "Probably."

He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. "Are you gonna dance in your underwear?" She smiled before he kissed her slowly and deeply, pressing her body against his. Addison pulled away when she felt the elevator stop, and she took a moment to whisper in his ear before she walked briskly out of the elevator.

"Maybe I'll dance naked."


End file.
